The NB5 Emulator from American Alliance is part of their ongoing "story" of a Pan-American Alliance fighting back after being devastated by aliens. The "NB" of the name stands for "New Beginnings" and it is supposed to be a probe to seed other planets.

Rockets from American Alliance tend to have a "different" look about them. I have several but the only one built before this was the F2 Avenger and I have been very happy with its performance. This one caught my attention because of the triple rear ejecting parachutes.

The photos and videos of the trials and tribulations of this rocket throughout its lifecyle will be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/23694991@N...57612363392393/

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__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

Whoops!

I gave the wrong link above. It was just for the construction.

The collection for the Emulator is here: http://flickr.com/photos/23694991@N...57612409809750/

(although construction is the only thing there so far)

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

The first step called for in the instructions is the marking of the various tubes. There are 3 BT5s and a BT50. The instructions were unclear at the stage. I believe the phrase "opposite end" was used in place of "other side". This led to some confusion until I had read through the entire set a few times.

I also noticed that the BT50 had a nasty and deep spiral. It serves as the motor tube but will be visible so I decided to go ahead and fill the spirals first off. Using a brush, I applied Elmer's filler and worked it into the groove with a razor blade. The blade was also used to scrape off the excess. Since this left very little material behind, it did not take long for it to dry and the whole tube was sanded down with #400 sandpaper. The spiral, once so prominent, was now hardly visible.

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

The instructions include a paper template which has outlines for all of the balsa parts. When cut out, it fits exactly over the balsa stock that was supplied. I taped the templates in place and used a razor knife to cut out the three large fins and the three small ones. The similar fins were stacked and sanded to uniformity and then all but the root edges had bevels sanded into them.

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

The template also included provision to make a jig from the balsa to insert the thrust ring. I knew from pervious experience doing this that I preferred to just use a spent motor casing and this was done. The thrust ring was shoved into place using a casing and was secured with yellow glue.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

The small fins were applied evenly spaced and flush against the bottom of the BT50. A double glue joint was used and, when dry, the fins were filleted using yellow glue. I also used the glue as a "sealer" on the balsa since it would only be slightly visible at the end.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

A few hous later, the fillets were dry and I did some rudimentary sanding. The motor tube was then set up in the booth and primed with Kilz.

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

That was given a chance to dry and then the tube was sprayed with a bright red.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

When the red paint was dry, I sanded down the outer root edge of the little fins to insure adhesion with the glue. The motor tube and the 2 BT5 chute tubes were then test fitted into the centering rings. The BT5s fit fine but the center holes needed to be sanded a bit to accomodate the BT50. When they fit, I took them all apart again and measured 4" and 1-5/8" from the front of the motor tube since the previous marks had been covered by the paint. A razor knife was then used to scrape away the paint where the rings were to go. The pieces were put back together again and alinged to the marks. Care has to be taken to see that the small fins also align with the three BT5 tubes. Rubber bands come in handy at this point. I glued the rings in place with white glue and applied the first layer of a double glue joint to the bottoms of the BT5s and small fins. When the first layer had dried, I glued the fins to the BT5s and used some masking tape to hold everything in place as the glue dried.

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"

As the tubes dried, I applied Elmer's filler to the large fins. I brushed it on and screeded it flat with a razor blade. About an hour later, I was able to sand them with #400 sandpaper. The result was the nicest set of fins I have prepared to date.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
John A. Lee O.S.L.
Alamo Rocketeers NAR Section 661
NAR 87285, L1 8 March 2008
TRA 03040, L1 8 March 2008
Photos of the "Fleet": http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/

I used to tell Mom, "...I want to fly rockets when I grow up!"

She said, "Make up your mind, you can't do both!"